Online trolls who target judges ‘should be prosecuted’
PEOPLE who hurl abuse at judges on social media should be prosecuted, the Lord Chief Justice has suggested.
Lord Burnett of Maldon said putting “trolls” on trial “should be looked at”, despite the difficulty of establishing their identity. Lord Burnett told the Lords Constitution Committee that abuse “hurled at judges in the courtroom” was often shrugged off, but in persistent cases the law of contempt “should be explored more fully”. Responding to a question from Lord Pannick QC, a leading barrister, about using contempt of court laws to prosecute trolls, the head of the judiciary said: “The problem with much of the social media type abuse is that it’s impossible immediately to identify who the abuser is.
“Inevitably, if it’s come through one of the ordinary social media platforms, it’s often anonymised.
“I’m afraid I don’t know how easy it is to discover identities behind pseudonyms. But it’s certainly something that should be looked at.
“You will appreciate that occasionally the police do become involved and they do take action and also, regrettably, it’s been necessary on behalf of a handful of judges to take civil action in our courts, to obtain appropriate orders restraining people from doing things which are quite inappropriate.”
He said the abuse was “capable of undermining the rule of law because it erodes confidence in an institution which doesn’t deserve to have its confidence eroded”.
The Lord Chief Justice said the abuse was contributing to the lack of applicants for senior positions. “There is no doubt that it is dispiriting and sometimes genuinely frightening for our judges. It is a factor which inevitably may play into the recruitment of judges,” he said. “Put crudely, if people are thinking of applying, particularly in some jurisdictions, they may be asking themselves: ‘Why should I put myself through what might happen?’”
He added that judges on tribunals and in the family courts were particularly likely to receive online abuse.
Raising judicial morale was one of Lord Burnett’s stated aims when he became Lord Chief Justice last October. In December, he called for people to recognise that “judges are human”. He told the Lords that the recruitment crisis threatened to undermine the worldwide reputation of British justice. “Judicial recruitment, in my view, poses a threat to our ability to discharge the business of the courts effectively.”
In 2017, six out of 14 High Court vacancies were left unfilled. Yesterday, the Ministry of Justice announced a scheme to encourage more women, black, ethnic minority and disabled people to become judges. The programme offers help and access to discussions led by judges.